Kalisz

Sister cities

• Adria
• Martin
• Heerhugowaard
• Hamm
• Minsk
• Erfurt
• Hautmont
• Szentendre
• La Louvière
• Kamianets-Podilskyi
• Tongeren
• Preston

History

There are many artefacts from Roman times in the area of Kalisz, indicating that the settlement had once been a stop of the Roman caravans heading for the Baltic Sea along the trade route of the Amber Trail. Calisia had been mentioned by Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD, although the connection is doubted by some historians who claim that the location mentioned by Ptolemy was situated in the territory of the Diduni in Magna Germania. Archaeological excavations have uncovered early medieval settlement from the Piast dynasty period, c. 9th–12th centuries. Modern Kalisz was most likely founded in the 9th century as a provincial capital castellany and a minor fort. As part of the region of Greater Poland, i.e. the cradle of the Polish state, the town formed part of Poland since the country's establishment in the 10th century. In 1106, Bolesław III Wrymouth captured the town, and made it a part of his feudal domain. Between 1253 and 1260 the town was incorporated according to the German town law called the (after Środa Śląska), a local variation of the Magdeburg Law, and soon began to grow. One of the richest towns of Greater Poland, during the feudal fragmentation of Poland it formed a separate duchy ruled by a local branch of the Piast dynasty. In 1264, the Statute of Kalisz was issued in the city by Bolesław the Pious. It was a unique protective privilege for Jews during their persecution in Western Europe, which in the following centuries made Poland the destination of Jewish migration from other countries. After Poland was reunited, the town became a centre of weaving and wood products, as well as one of the cultural centres of Greater Poland. In 1282 the city laws were confirmed by Przemysł II of Poland, and in 1314 it was made the capital of the Kalisz Voivodeship…

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  221
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  177
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  170
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  163
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  158
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  152
• Rook

  Corvus frugilegus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  132
• Western Jackdaw

  Coloeus monedula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  127

Most recent

• M 4.5 — 2014-11-30
  8 km SSW of Szczerców, Poland
• M 2.8 — 2008-07-14
  4 km SE of Szczerców, Poland
• M 2.8 — 2007-05-06
  4 km NW of ?erków, Poland
• M 2.6 — 2007-05-05
  2 km NE of Krzepice, Poland
• M 2.5 — 2005-07-01
  3 km NW of Sulmierzyce, Poland
• M 3.7 — 2005-05-30
  5 km SW of Kluki, Poland